Campbell River’s Strathcona Gardens is in the midst of re-development. Following a successful Alternative Approval Process (APP) in Campbell River and Area D, whose residents use this complex, in 2023 the Board authorized borrowing up to $64.6 million for this project. Crews are currently building the foundations.
The SRD is exploring the possibility of using Area C property tax dollars to support this complex, but has not yet decided upon a course of action. This sparked a great deal of resistance from Area C residents who do not want to see their property taxes increased to pay for a ‘Campbell River’ project.
Starting on Saturday, January 11th, Dance Temple Cortes will be held every two weeks in Manson’s Hall.
“Everyone has an excuse not to dance. In Gabriel Roth’s book, Sweat Your Prayers, there’s a two page list or maybe a three page list of all the reasons. That’s great, if that’s your choice, but there’s something to be said for getting over the resistance because there’s no wrong way to dance. There’s no wrong way to move. It’s incredibly freeing to be in a space where you can dance in all your goofiness, offbeat, rolling around, whatever works for you and just engage with your body in a healthy way,” explained Connie Quail.
Editor’s note:Someone pointed out this article is too specific for International readers who, for example, may not even know where Vancouver Island is. There is a lack of specific information.I have written Fisheries and Oceans Canada, pointing out: “Most of The articles I see mention Tidal Area 14 (which is the little stretch of Vancouver Island coast between Comox and Parksville), but when I talk to Cortes growers they mention Baynes Sound, which is only a small part of Tidal Area 14. If it is only Baynes Sound, a lot of growers in other parts of Tidal Area 14 are being negatively impacted for something that is not even in their immediate vicinity. At the moment, a lot of Vancouver Island growers appear to be negatively impacted for something that is not in their Tidal Area.“
There was a 10 hour interval during which Erik Lyon of Rising Tide Oysters, on Cortes Island, thought he was going to reap big profits. Dozens of Californians had fallen ill after eating raw oysters from ‘Tidal Area 14’ in British Columbia. That’s on the east coast of Vancouver Island, between Comox and Parksville. Lyon specifically pointed to Baynes Sound, where there are oyster growers that sometimes ship 20,000 dozen oysters in a week. By way of contrast, he described most Cortes Island growers as ‘little mom and pop operations.’
“We’re a little bit removed from Baynes Sound. We tend to have cleaner water and a lot of the buyers can reliably pick up more product from us when the big guys go down,” he explained.
That’s what seemed to be happening on Saturday, December 13, 2024.
At their December 11 meeting, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board passed a bylaw to regulate bulk water processing, bottling and sales on Read, Maurelle, Sonora, Stuart, and the Rendezvous islands.
Three Campbell River Directors voted against receiving the staff report for this bylaw.
Director Susan Sinnott explained, “I just want to hear from staff, the reasons necessary. Is there a pending application for people to bulk water in the Desolation Sound Area? Is there an imminent issue?”
The 32 properties in Tiber Bay are one step closer to being included in the South Cortes Island fire protection area. They are currently outside the boundary and, consequently, the Cortes Fire department cannot immediately respond to fires in that area. It needs direction from the BC Wildfire Service. Tiber Bay residents will soon be receiving a petition in which they can state their preferences.
Cortes Island Director Mark Vonesch read out the motion at the December 11 SRD Board Meeting, “That a petition be prepared and distributed to affected property owners to determine if they support the extension initiative, and then a further report be prepared for the Board’s consideration at the conclusion of the petition process.”
